Pages

Sunday, September 16, 2012

CAGI Finalist #20

Maddie has a
woolly spider monkey that no one else can see. After losing
all her friends and getting assigned a therapist, she’s stopped trying to
convince people it’s real.

Then Maddie
meets worrywart Liam and his smart-aleck friend Hayden at sixth grade
orientation, and is astonished that they’ve discovered “invisible” animals of
their own. The three kids are quickly recruited into a top-secret wildlife
rescue organization, where Maddie learns that her cute baby monkey isn’t a
hallucination, but rather a Spirit Animal—the essence of its endangered
species. When a sudden illness ravages her monkey, a horrified Maddie realizes
it can only mean one thing: wild woolly spider monkeys are in serious trouble.

Banding
together with Liam and Hayden, Maddie must get from California to Brazil to
discover what is threatening the monkeys and put a stop to it. Faced with slash
and burn deforestation, a corrupt police detective, and desperate poachers, it
seems impossible that three kids and one sickly Spirit Animal could have any
chance of succeeding in their mission. When it comes to saving her beloved
monkeys, though, Maddie knows failure isn't an option.

I work as an
education associate for the Museum of Science in Boston and have studied
primatology at the graduate level. In 2011, I wrote a picture book (A BRIDGE
FOR THE IN-BETWEEN STREAM) for the Museum of Science, which is used in their
educational outreach programs. I am also an active member of SCBWI.

First
250:

Maddie
lowered the baby monkey into her backpack. “Just stay still for me, please?”
Maddie asked. The monkey’s tiny fingers pulled playfully on hers as she tried
to coax him into the bag. The bag itself balanced cautiously on the damp wooden
fence in front of the zoo’s Primate House, and Maddie had one strap looped over
her arm to make sure it didn’t fall. “I’m excited to be back here again, too,”
Maddie continued, “But if you get out—”

“Who’s she
talking to, Grandma?” a little voice asked.

Maddie
immediately stopped what she was doing. People can see you. Got to act
normal, she told herself, though it was impossible to keep her hands from
bobbing weirdly as the monkey scampered out of the bag and over them. Brazilly,
no! Get back here! She bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from
actually shouting after him.

Farther down
the spider monkey viewing area, an old lady gave her a sideways glance. A tiny
girl in a blue rain jacket blinked curiously at Maddie from the lady’s side.

Maddie
grimaced. Brazilly, taking advantage of the situation, had managed to climb
halfway up her arm already. Please stop, she silently willed the monkey.
Don’t make me grab you in front of them. He just looked at her, cocking
his fuzzy head to one side.

“Her face
looks funny,” the girl in the blue jacket said next.

Maddie
blushed, blinking away her stern glare. The monkeys in the enclosure hooted at
Brazilly as he continued to climb, and Maddie was pretty sure they were egging
him on.